Street closures and bus detours go into effect due to crowds attending the X Factor auditions at The Dunk. Sabin Street will be closed between Mathewson and Empire Streets, starting at Midnight, Wednesday May 9th and may remain in effect through Friday.

Back in September the Dunkin Donuts Center applied for Zoning permission to install a video marquee sign on the Sabin Street side of the facility. Today a reader sends us a photo of it being installed.

I snapped this quick pic of the South Plaza at the Dunk last week. Since then the landscaping has been finished and the construction fences have come down, I think it is done.

A comment in the previous post about this stated that there would be a lighting component to the plaza.

“Dubbed The Horizon Garden, Kim’s plan would transform the Dunk’s southwest corner into a small-scale sculpture park, complete with pedestrian-friendly benches and walkways and other landscaping features. At its center, the park would feature a sculpture, also designed by Kim, consisting of a perforated stainless steel screen dotted with thousands of button-size pieces of recycled glass.”

I haven’t yet been by at night to see if the lighting portion is working yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing it.

A while ago, I wrote about the need for a sign at the Dunk. When the renovations of The Dunk were first proposed, an LED sign was included in the renderings, but as the costs of the renovations rose, the sign disappeared from the renderings.

RHODE ISLAND CONVENTION CENTER AUTHORITY, OWNER: The Dunkin’ Donuts Center, One LaSalle Square also known as 101 Sabin Street, Lot 254 on the Tax Assessor’s Plat 26, located in a Downtown D-1 Central Business District and within the Downcity Overlay District (B-Street), filed an application seeking relief from Sections 502.2(C)(1), 502.2(C)(2), 603.2, 606.2 and 303-use code 68 pursuant to Section 603.3, in the proposed installation of two video marquees, each sign panel measuring approximately 8’8.3″ x 15’11.2″ each installed on the existing sign structure at approximately the same height and in a “V” shape below the existing identification sign on Sabin Street; one marquee would face in a generally easterly direction and one marquee facing in a generally westerly direction. The applicant is requesting use and dimension variances and seeks relief from regulations governing freestanding signs and maximum sign area within the Downcity District, and further relief from provisions governing signs that move, internally illuminated signs and billboards. The lot in question contains approximately 208,339 square feet of land area

The sign won’t be quite as big as what I made in the rendering above, but I say “Yay!” to signage!

I have bemoaned before that the south plaza* at The Dunk (the entrance facing the Hilton) was unfinished and sad.

Thankfully, the last several weeks, work has been going on to finish the south plaza. There has been all sorts of fencing blocking the view of what they were doing, but today I was able to get a good look at it.

Obviously no landscaping is in yet, but already it is an improvement. The curved lines are remeniscent of the sidewalk treatment between the Convention Center and the Westin, I’m assuming that is purposeful.

This is what the renderings showed of the south plaza when The Dunk was being redeveloped.

Obviously they are doing something different, but it would be nice if those umbrella tables carried through to the new design. We’ll see how it develops as they finish it up.

*I don’t know what that area is called, if it even has a name, I call it the south plaza, not too original, I know.

Pretty much every block between Washington and Fountain has a block party, and people are wondering the city streets with beer in plastic cups. How French Quarter of us (though I think that behavior is not officially condoned).

Wonder if they take RIPTA transfers:

I actually love this, I’m serious:

Well, that’s it this afternoon. Very festive, but not overwhelming. I’m sure it is going to get more and more festive thorughout the night.